Star Trek or Crime in Scandi? How to choose the best streaming service for you

Streaming Pleasures: Stranger Things, Top Gun: Maverick, Aftersun and The Mandalorian

Never before has there been so much entertainment to so a lot, and it takes several steps before overeating can start. But how do you find the best streaming service in this age of endless content? The good news is that there's a streamer available, whether you're craving Titanic documentaries, art-house movies, or reruns of The Jerry Springer Show.

Strap your seatbelt, lean back and put matches under your eyelids — we present our live streaming guide — whatever your desire.

Best for… spy thrillers

ITVX (Ad-supported free tier, premium tier £5.99/month

ITV's attempt to carve out a piece of the streaming pie is a combination of terrestrial shows and ambitious originals like Spy Among Friends, Generous, albeit a little suffocating, a period spy stunt starring Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce, and David Tennant's Litvinenko about a Russian spy being poisoned in London, in which Tennant does something called a «Russian accent.»

A spy among friends Photo: Adi Marineci Best for… Families

BBC iPlayer (free)

Despite all of Beeb's shortcomings, it is responsible for one of the UK's most viewed, comprehensive and user-friendly streaming services, featuring reruns of current shows and a catalog of Beeb classics such as Dr Who, Blackadder and EastEnders. In addition, footage from the recent Glastonbury festival (albeit only where the artists signed the report).

Best for… Old Fashioned Good Box Sets

All 4 (Free)

< p>Watch your favorite Channel 4 movies like Taskmaster and Hollyoaks, plus movies like Transformers: The Last Knight and box sets of ER, The West Wing, Cheers, and Frasier, shows that remind us of how beautiful the world was before the internet. and ruined everything.

Better for… Real Crime

My5 (Free)

Did anyone say real crime? Everything you ever wanted to know about some of the most infamous killers in history is answered by a channel that specializes in crime documents, soap operas and that hastily aired film about the tragic Titanic submarine called — with noticeable originality — «Titanic». Lost at sea.

Also, older box sets such as the film adaptation of Stephen King's Under the Dome and the acclaimed reboot of All Creatures Great and Small.

Best for… « Star Trek and Tom Cruise

Paramount+ (£6.99 per month)

Here is Star Trek and its contemporary spin-offs like Discovery and the brilliant Strange New Worlds and the 90s cult horror drama The Yellow Jackets, as well as the only streamer that can be carried around. Tom Cruise's Top Gun: Maverick

Star Trek: Stranger New Worlds Credit & Copyright: Marni Grossman Best for… Blockbuster TVNetflix (from £6.99/month)

It has everything you need: Stranger Things, The Witcher, Squid Game . Also, watch reality content like Too Hot To Handle, Selling Sunset, and Love Is Blind. But once you get over the views and dive deep, is there enough content on Netflix to keep us coming back?

Best for… Free shipping (but not JRR Tolkien)

Amazon Prime Video (part of Prime Membership, 8 £99 per month)

Amazon has taken some big fantasy swings with Tolkien's controversial $1 billion adaptation of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which many Frodo fanatics dislike, as well as the soon-to-be-returned Wheel of Time starring Rosamund Pike.

Oddly enough, the biggest hit — and best — series produced by the mega-corporation is The Boys, a wildly idiosyncratic and often disgusting parody of superheroes.

Best for… Star Wars and Marvel.

Disney+ (£7.99 per month)

The home of Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and Disney itself. But with the mothership facing financial setbacks, the pace of new content releases has slowed (Disney is even ditching shows like the sweet sequel Willow to take advantage of tax write-offs). To make matters worse, Marvel's once-reliable food is losing quality, as evidenced by the startlingly dark Secret Invasion.

However, there are a few classics: Tom Hiddleston's Loki was worth watching (and returned this year), as was The Mandalorian series 1 and 2 (let's pretend the 3rd part doesn't exist), and Tony Gilroy's grim look to Star Wars. Andor. Plus, you have the entire Marvel back catalogue, including the excellent early Avengers movies. And that's not all: Disney+ Premium American dramas (Sickness, Bear, Screenings) and future comedy classics (What We Do in the Shadows, Abbott Elementary) are also filmed here.

Best for… Quality over quantity

Apple TV+ (£6.99 per month)

With all the money in the world, Apple provided brilliant content, including an adaptation of The Isaac Asimov Foundation and Jennifer Aniston's The Morning Show — also known as the morning TV soap that seemed to foretell the Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield saga. It's the long-running Ted Lasso, Idris Elba's new car The Hijack, and the excellent Korean crime drama Pachinko.

There's no deep back catalog here, as Apple doesn't churn out stuff the way Netflix does, but its show, good or bad tend to have extremely high production values. Even the dreadful Look, which stars Jason Momoa in a post-apocalyptic world where everyone is blind, is dazzling.

Best for… sports and more

Now (packages available from £6/month)< /p>

As part of the Sky group, now hosts various streaming movie and sports packages. As far as TV goes, it's the exclusive home to HBO favorites like the (terrible) Sex and the City and Just So… spinoffs, Succession, and — well, we might all have a laugh — a sleaze pop festival. «Idol».

Best for…fans

BritBox (£5.99/month)

It was originally a collaboration between ITV and the BBC but is now part of the ITVX service (see above). Britbox offers classic comedies and dramas such as the original Doctor Who films from the sixties and seventies, Carry On and the latex political parody reboot The Spilled Image. They also have a strong role in original crime dramas, such as Agatha Christie's hilarious adaptation of Why Didn't They Ask Evans? and the powerful movie «The Beast Must Die».

'The Beast Must Die' Credit & Copyright: BritBox Best for…Reality Show

Haiu (£4.99/month)

One for the reality TV fan of your life. Through the American network NBCUniversal, he has access to cult reality shows such as Under Deck, The Real Housewives and reruns of Keeping Up with the Kardashians (before they went to Disney + with the Kardashians).

Best for…arthouse movies

Mubi (£12.99 a month)

Movie…Moobi…understood? Luckily, everything else about this arthouse movie service is much smarter than its name. Hear carefully curated avant-garde classics from past decades such as John Cassavetes' «The Murder of a Chinese Bookie» as well as new hits including Paul Mescal's «After Sunset» and Ryusuke Hamaguchi's «Drive My Car.»

Best for… Horror

Shudder (£4.99 per month)

It's behind you! Actually, no, it's in front of you in the form of this special horror service featuring classics like John Carpenter's Halloween, some awesome genre food from around the world (especially Asia) and original content like the reboot of the old anthology Creepshow .

Best for… Sharks

Discovery+ (£3.99 per month)

For those who need more than one series about sharks. As well as a lifetime supply of documentaries about serial killers (The Atlanta Child Murders) and romance behind bars (Love and Isolation). These are all TV documentaries from the American company Discovery, Inc, which recently teamed up with WarnerMedia.

Best for… math lovers

CuriosityStream (about £2.30 a month)

If your tastes for documentaries go deeper than Love & Isolation or The Real Housewives, this smart streamer has information on science, natural history and popular culture. Most of the writing has an intellectual slant—Mad Men: Layers of Meaning, for example, is a deep dive into the undertones of Don Draper's prestigious classic. Subscriptions are paid in dollars, but you can sign up from anywhere.

Best for… Lesser-known Japanese movies with live video streaming

Rakuten TV (£5.99 per month for premium tier)

Best for… Jerry Springer-style chaos

Plex ( free)

This American streamer has ad-supported channels such as Nosey, which runs Jerry Springer-style tabloid talk shows, including the real Jerry Springer Show, and Fail Army, which is dedicated to «prank comedy.»< /p> A scene from The Jerry Springer Show. Image Credit & Copyright: Todd Buchanan. Best for… Hardcore cineastes

BFI Player (£4.99 per month)

< p>Another movie rental portal, this time from BFI. You can watch archived content for free, access new and classic movies with a subscription, or rent new features like How to Blast the Pipeline.

Best for…anime and manga

Crunchyroll (4, £99 per month)

Anime General Store. Watch the latest iconic Japanese cartoons such as Demon Slayer, One Punch Man and Assassination Classroom. There are several subscription levels: but you can try the service for free.

Parents with manga-obsessed kids should note that the age ratings are vague and most shows are 14+. Some are suitable for younger children, others are not. Unfortunately, parents will have to watch each episode and draw their own conclusions. This is not the only anime streamer: there are also its competitors, such as Hidive.

Best for… Nordic crime

Viaplay: Nordic Noir (£3.99/month)

Nordic noir is no longer as hot as it was a decade ago. However, it still has an audience that will be thrilled by a streamer that promises «an icy, dark, and violent Scandinavian story.» Series include The Defenders, about an «elite protection squad» in the Danish government, and Huss, about a young female police officer on the streets of Gothenburg.

Best for… Top-notch documentaries

Dogwoof on Demand (Movies rented separately)

Unfortunately, this is not a pet-focused streamer, but another documentary channel, this time from UK distributor Dogwoof. It offers documentaries on the likes of Vivienne Westwood, Holston, David Lynch, and more, as well as big-name titles from the past few years, including Act of Murder, All That Breathes, and Blackfish.

You don't subscribe: instead, films can be rented for around £5 or bought for around £10.

Best for… Royal gossip

True Royalty (£5/month)

First full royal family streaming service featuring documentaries on King Charles' coronation, the life and times of Kate Middleton and the relationship between Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret. We bet Harry and Meghan are subscribers.